Becoming a Hollywood star, Monty formed many new friendships. One of his close friends was Mira Rostova, who coached Monty in almost every acting role he had. Perhaps the most famous friendship in Monty’s life was his relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. The bond between them strengthened when the two starred together in” A Place in the Sun.” He would act with Taylor in two other films, “Raintree County” (1956) and “Suddenly Last Summer” (1959). He accepted both roles without even looking at a script. He just wanted to act with Taylor. After “A Place in the Sun,” Clift did not make a movie for two years.

His return to the movie screen was in “From Here to Eternity,” which won eight Oscars and earned Monty a Best Actor nomination. He went on to star in the Hitchcock film "I Confess” and the movie “Indiscretion of an American Housewife” before taking another leave from acting. Monty was not seen on a stage or screen for more than three years.

One night in May of 1957 Monty accepted an invitation from Elizabeth Taylor for a dinner party.
Afraid he would not be able to see his way home on the winding road Monty was the first to leave that evening. He veered off the road and his car collided into a telephone pole. The accident left Monty with a broken jaw and nose, a crushed sinus cavity, two missing teeth and severe facial lacerations which required plastic surgery. His remarkable recovery let him return home after only eight weeks in the hospital.

After the accident, Monty starred in seven movies and received an Academy
Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in “Judgment at Nuremberg.” He also
co-starred in “The Misfits,” which was Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's last
movie. Monty was set to co-star with Elizabeth Taylor in “Reflections in a Golden
Eye,” but filming would not start until after the current project she was working
on. So in the meantime, he was cast for “The Defector.” No one suspected this
would be his last role. While waiting to begin work on “Reflections,” Clift
suffered a heart attack and died in his home on July 23, 1966. At the age
of 45, he was buried in Quaker Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.